‘Star Wars’ Signals: Inside the Boba Fett Movie Lucasfilm Almost Made

Welcome to our weekly Star Wars roundup! With Disney ramping up the franchise on all cylinders, there’s tons of exciting stuff in the way of news, rumors, and clips. We’ve picked out the best Star Wars stories the internet has to offer, bringing you everything you need to know about the world’s favorite sci-fi series.

1. Lucasfilm was one teaser trailer away from unveiling a Boba Fett movie

Boba Fett | Lucasfilm

It seems like just yesterday that Lucasfilm revealed the plans for their first anthology movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The studio first made the announcement back in 2015, at the annual Star Wars Celebration, held in Anaheim, CA. What we didn’t know though, was that on that same day, Disney was inches away from unveiling the first footage from a Josh Trank-led Boba Fettmovie. According to Entertainment Weekly, “it came so close to being officially announced, Lucasfilm even prepped a teaser reel to show at Star Wars Celebration in spring of 2015.”

Things fell apart in the 11th hour though, after an abrupt split with Trank shelved the project indefinitely. Instead, Rogue One found itself fast-tracked for a late-2016 release, with Han Solo slotted in directly behind Episode VIII. In the months since, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy was expectedly cagey about whether the Boba Fett anthology movie will get dusted off. “There are [possible movies] that we have been talking a lot about,” she mentioned to Entertainment Weekly, citing plans to sit down in January to discuss what’s next.

There’s a whole lot going on right now in the Star Wars universe. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is currently overseeing the release of Rogue One next month, production for Episode VIII, and a host of novels, comics, video games, and TV shows to boot. In a recent interview with Variety, Hollywood’s busiest executive expounded on her considerable workload.

Speaking about Rogue One, Kennedy “describes the movie as a World War II-style adventure,” which for the first time in Star Wars history, won’t feature an opening crawl.

She also dished on the upcoming Han Solo spinoff, noting how it will be “closer to a heist or Western type feel,” while also speaking in-depth about how the studio is focused on bringing more women into the fold to direct future films. “Finding a female director is a priority,” Variety notes, with Kennedy herself stating that it’s only a question of finding the right project. You can read the full interview here; trust us, it’s more than worth your time.

3. Emilia Clarke lands a role in the Han Solo spinoff movie

Emilia Clarke as Khaleesi | HBO

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Han Solo spinoff is becoming more interesting every week. The very fact that The Lego Movie directors were tagged to helm the movie in the first place was an inspired decision. Then, Alden Ehrenreich was brought on to play young Han Solo, followed months later by the announcement that Donald Glover would be Lando Calrissian.

Now, Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has been added to the cast in a yet-to-be-revealed role. The news broke late last week, and although we don’t know who Clarke will be playing, it’s exciting nonetheless to have the Khaleesi herself join the Star Wars universe. Here’s hoping there’ll be dragons of some variety.

Star Wars Battlefront was first released with a tragic lack of content for fans. It was limited to a handful of game modes, maps, and upgrades. In the year since though, it’s expanded out considerably with add-ons for the Outer Rim, Bespin, the Death Star, and soon, Rogue One.

Rogue One: Scarif will be available to Season Pass owners beginning December 6, and will feature a treasure trove of exciting new content. Fans will be able to play as Jyn Erso and Orson Krennic, across four new maps set on the beaches of the jungle planet, Scarif (featured prominently in trailers for the film). It’ll be the final DLC for Battlefront, as DICE / EA turns their focus to the game’s sequel, set to release in fall 2017.